


And Away We Go

by ThePagemistress



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePagemistress/pseuds/ThePagemistress
Summary: Seb isn't impressed with the handling of the Australian GP situation. Kimi has a solution.
Relationships: Kimi Räikkönen/Sebastian Vettel
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	And Away We Go

“It’s not right.”

Seb stood in his hotel room, hands clenched onto the back of an armchair, rocking it back and forth. A frown marred his brow as he glared at nothing in particular.

“Is Formula One,” Kimi replied, the shrug audible without Seb having to turn to where he had sprawled himself on top of the bed, TV remote in hand. He said it like Seb should know better by now. Perhaps he should.

“They said if a result came back positive, they would cancel. Did you hear that? Some bullshit.”

Kimi scoffed, a small but damning noise. “Is Formula One.”

Seb spared him a glance then but his expression wasn’t condescending. It was sympathetic, if anything. As if he felt sorry for the fact Seb still had faith in his sport to make the correct choice.

Seb pushed away from the chair in frustration, only to slump down into it, elbows on his knees as he stared at the floor.

“We shouldn’t even have come out here. Everyone else made decisions in advance. What the fuck are we even doing? We left ourselves at the mercy of people who don’t care.”

He glanced up to see Kimi seemingly focused on the TV. The volume was down and some low-grade action movie was playing on screen. Seb picked at a hangnail on his thumb, chewing on his lip. They were going to end up racing, he just knew it. It was all about money in the end, Lewis was right. No one would want to take the responsibility for cancelling it at this stage, not with fans clamouring at the gates.

“You don’t have to race.”

Seb’s head snapped up to stare at Kimi who was still watching the TV. “What?”

“No one is making you race. What is to stop you from going home?”

Seb gaped at him. The lack of a response was enough to have Kimi turn to face him, albeit for only a moment. “Maybe you force their hand. They cannot make you stay.”

He suspected they probably could. There had to be clauses in various contracts. But this was uncharted waters. A pandemic. Surely people should be responsible for their own well-being and do what they think is best for the well-being of others?

“I can’t just walk away from the team,” he replied and he was surprised at how weak the argument sounded to his own ears. “Or the fans. It wouldn’t be right, it’s not fair to them.”

“You think they will still run the race without two world champions, huh?”

Seb frowned at that. “I know he said he was surprised but I don’t think Lewis would just leave-” A snort cut him off and with a nauseating swoop of horror, Seb realised his mistake. “You...weren’t talking about Lewis,” he corrected, sheepishly glancing over at Kimi but the Finn just offered him an amused smirk in return. “You would leave too? If I left?”

Kimi shrugged but there was a nervousness there that Seb recognised only through having been friends with him for so many years. “Solidarity,” Kimi said, a teasing smile on his face but softness in his eyes that sent a different kind of nauseating swoop through Seb. “In the name of the GDPR.”

“...you mean the GPDA.”

“Whatever,” Kimi waved off.

Seb worried his lower lip. “I don’t know.” He deflated further into the armchair, head rolling back as he stared at the ceiling. “I don’t think it would be that easy. Mattia would probably-”

Kimi turned off the TV, swung his legs back onto the floor and walked out of Seb’s room. The German blinked at the closed door, eyes wide. They’d known each other for long enough that Seb assumed Kimi was used to him having to talk through things until the cows came home. But apparently 4am in the middle of a pandemic was his breaking point. Couldn’t fault him for that. Still, it was just one more shitty situation Seb didn’t want to find himself in.

He’d barely even gotten started on berating himself when his phone started ringing from across the room. Picking it up, he frowned at the caller ID.

“What are you doing up?” he asked, falling straight into German.

“You’re leaving?” Britta asked, the incredulity in her voice tempered by obvious sleep deprivation.

“Uh.”

“You know they haven’t made a decision yet.” It wasn’t exactly a question.

“Yeah, I- who told-”

“Kimi just called me,” which was the obvious answer, of course but it didn’t mean it made any more sense.

“Why does he have your number?”

A pause. “I gave it to him when he came back to Formula One,” she said, the stilted delivery making it sound like she was talking around something.

“Why?” Seb pressed.

A sigh. “I just thought it might be a good idea. In case something...happened. Look, this isn’t the point,” she continued and Seb desperately tried to ignore the way his heart was trying to claw its way through his throat. “Are you leaving or not?”

A thud outside his door made him jump. “Uh, well,” he said into the phone as he opened the door to find Kimi standing with his packed suitcase and an expectant look. “Yes.”

Another sigh, resigned this time. “Of course. Just...leave it with me, I will work it out and call you back in about fifteen minutes with flight details.”

“Ok. Thanks, Britta.” Britta just hummed down the line, somehow managing to sound accusatory and amused at the same time. Seb hung up, a grin escaping as he fully caught up with the fact that yes, they were actually going to do this.

And as he packed his luggage, as they left for the airport in a taxi, as they power-walked through the airport fighting down honest-to-god giggles at the amount of double-takes they got, Seb felt a peace he had been missing from his work life in too long.

At the check-in desk, he shared a breathless smile with Kimi whose mischievous eyes positively glinted in return and it reminded him so much of their early days when Kimi would try and lure him out to bars and get him to loosen up. To break the rules. To take a chance. So many things had changed and so many things would continue to change. But never this.

This was for keeps.

**Author's Note:**

> The reason Britta gave Kimi her number is because when he returned to F1, she suspected that Seb might finally make good on his pining and they'd end up in bed together and Kimi would have to call her for damage control whilst Seb was too busy having a meltdown. She did not disclose this directly to Kimi but, being Kimi, he didn't ask so it was all fine. 
> 
> (She's still waiting for that call.)


End file.
